Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:27 am Post subject: Couple of questions please!
We're picking up our puppy Cookie in just over 2 weeks. Ordering him a crate today. Just have a couple of questions I wanted to ask you all.
Firstly, when I put him in the crate when we go out or at bedtime I'm assuming I should remove his collar? I take it he's ok during the day when I'm at home, as long as I keep an eye on him.
Secondly, socialising. I've been reading the sticky about not keeping him at home while he's waiting for his second jabs. I'm quite happy to carry him around to various places to meet different people and different situations. I'm planning on taking him to my sons school at pick up time, am I ok to put him down for a wee as we get out of the car? It's just other dogs and dog poo that I have to be careful of itsn't it?
Sorry if these seem like obvious questions but it's all new to me!
I didnt leave a collar on Harry untill he was around 4mth old and even now i dont always keep it on him. But if you are going to then yes for now id take it off while your not with him.
I took Harry out with me from the day i got him (5weeks old) he was even playing in the park with the dogs that we know, yes on the grass sniffing around and walking with us. This did him no harm at all and infact i do think it helped him to be confident. I dont see why you cant take him to school as long as your school are ok with this as my sons wouldnt even let me carry Harry onto the grounds as the head called me over and said "get that out of hear its a health and saftey risk" Hello he was 5 week old and in my arms. No i didnt listern to her and told her i wasnt going to. but thats another story. As long as you know the dog is healthy and doesnt look like its a walking germ then i wouldnt worry.
I would socialise Cookie wherever you go... invite people into your home so that she gets used to strangers coming into the house, make friends with the postman.
Take him to see traffic - a trick my trainer said was take puppy to the outside of the supermarket and ask folks to say hello to your dog.
Dogs you know to be well behaved and with responsible owners are also good for socialising your dog.
The more experiences you can do will just make the next stages so much easier
Ellie has a collection of collars she likes wearing them and if I take it off for too long she goes looking for it - I know there are those that only have collars on their dogs when they are outside on walks - it is really personal choice.
Good Luck and don't feel bad about asking questions after reading the stickies in the puppy section - that's the great thing about LF.
The earlier he gets to hear all the new and exciting things going on outside the better.I let Ted down in "safe" areas at about 9weeks as he got too heavy to carry as for the collar,i take Teds off as soon as we walk through the door.Personally i like them without a collar at home.Cant waiy to see some pics of your new puppy cookie xx
I would definitely leave the collar off her when she's in the crate and you're not around. Daisy wears her collar at home, but I take it off if we have to leave her, unsupervised (and crated or she'd be having a big party around the house).
A BIG yes to getting her out and about as soon as you can. I'd carry her around for the time being, but yes to getting her socialised with all sorts of different situations/noises/people etc. If you're new to dogs, Gwen Bailey's The Perfect Puppy is a useful book if you don't have it already and in the back is a suggest list of people/situations for socialisation.
We have taken Daisy to all sorts of places - and we've also been allowed into various shops with a no-dogs sign on the front when we've explained we're socialising her and would be carrying her around and could we please bring her in (would never leave her outside on her own of course if they said no, but they haven't).
Standing outside a supermarket as suggested, is a great idea as you will get various people wanting to say hello. Garden centres are often dog friendly and town centres ensure a nice variety of people and experiences
Yes I have got Gwen Baileys Perfect Puppy book, it's very useful.
I work in a supermarket so will definately be taking him there, all my colleagues want to meet him!
My sister in law has a Westie so she will be bringing him over to meet Cookie when we get him. One of my son's friends has a miniature dachsund puppy so no doubt they will meet up too. I will also try to make sure he meets a range of people too, our postman is friendly so will get him to say hello. My brother is rather a large chap so will ask him to come round so that he's not scared of bigger men, just need to borrow a toddler!!
To be honest it was more the putting him down for a wee I was worried about, but I suppose as long as he has a wee before we go out and we don't go too far he should be ok.
Yes take the collar off when left in the crate. It's long odds, but not impossible for a dog to get hung up. Apart from that I dont take the collar off my pups. Get the lightest collar you can find for the first one. It wont last long so dont pay much for it! From the second collar onwards get the longest which is still usable.
I always start my pups off with a collar as soon as they come in the door. Put it on immediately before feeding and they are less likely to take notice.
The easy way to sort the right size of collar, put a piece of string around the neck and cut it off at the right length and take that to the shop with you!
We took Frankie down to the beach from 'day 1' - he paddled about in the very edge of the water and the wet sand.
I carried him everywhere and what a fuss people made of him - it was lovely! Although by 10 weeks he was getting a bit heavy and a bit wriggly. Pets at Home was a good trip out, and they don't mind the odd widdle
We bought the soft puppy collar and put that on straight away - that actually lasted him till about 12 weeks, when he was out and about with his big boy lead and collar on.
Patriciat, the first time I took Mischa to Pets at Home, she pee'd and poo'd . She could not contain her excitement, sadly she was abig pup by then and house trained .
She also nicked the chews and toys of the shelf, I was mortified and a nervous wreck by the time we came out.
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